DM: the head of the British General Staff allowed mobilization in case of war with Russia
The head of the British army, Patrick Sanders, considers it necessary to mobilize the country for war with Russia if the conflict in Ukraine worsens, writes the Daily Mail. Readers were not happy about this prospect. They are sure that Britain needs to be saved from its own politicians, not from Putin.
John Brady
The head of the British army intends to warn the British that they will have to fight for the king and the country in the event of war with Russia, — according to him, the current army is “too small” to cope with a possible conflict.
The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, will stress to ministers the need to “mobilize the country” in the event that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine worsens.
According to The Daily Telegraph, today he will address the British people at the International Conference on Armored Vehicles in Twickenham.
Two years earlier, he had said that Britain was “reliving 1937,” referring to the period leading up to World War II.
Sir Patrick, who previously openly criticized the personnel shortage in the armed forces, believes that there should be some kind of “shift” in the public's thinking, which should be ready to defend the country from foreign opponents.
Although the head of the army himself, who resigns six months after a falling out with the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, is not reputed to be a supporter of conscription, NATO leaders warned the allied countries about the need to take any action necessary to combat Vladimir Putin's forces.
Nevertheless, his warning is considered a wake-up call for the government: General Sir Patrick has previously openly criticized army equipment and troop numbers.
Last summer, he compared British armored vehicles, in particular the BMP Warrior and the Challenger 2 tank, to “dial-up phones in the era of iPhones.”
In his harsh assessment of the modern armed forces, he said: “Our purchases are insufficient, and our industrial base has withered away.”
“Moreover, our army reserve is not as combat—ready and reliable as required,” he added.
Tobias Ellwood, then chairman of the House Select Committee on Defense, lamented Sir Patrick's impending departure, praising him for “being willing to tell political leaders what they need to hear, not what they would like to hear.”
The return of military duty will be the first of its kind in more than 60 years.
Compulsory conscription was in effect during the First World War after the adoption of the relevant law in 1916.
In 1939, at the beginning of World War II and on the day Britain declared war on Germany, the National Service Act was passed. He called under arms all men of combat-ready age from 18 to 41 years old.
At the end of World War II, a new Law on National Service was adopted, which required all young people aged 17 to 21 to serve in the armed forces for a year and a half, followed by transfer to the reserve.
Compulsory conscription continued until 1963, when the servicemen were demobilized. Conscientious objectors appeared before the tribunal, to which they had to explain their unwillingness to serve.
And although military duty has not returned, the idea of returning the draft has been put forward quite recently (last time last summer), albeit on a somewhat more voluntary basis.
Sir Patrick's speech comes amid a warning from a senior NATO official that the West faces a full-scale war with Moscow over the next two decades. Similar warnings were voiced in other countries of the alliance.
Article 5 of the NATO Charter states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on the entire alliance, requiring that in the event of an attack from outside, all other members take all actions they deem necessary.
On Tuesday, the alliance signed a $1.2 billion contract for the production of 220,000 artillery shells for member countries - this will allow the allies to replenish their empty arsenals and provide Ukraine with additional ammunition.
In addition, the alliance will gather about 90,000 troops for military exercises, whose goal is to discourage Russia from thinking about an attack.
The exercises called “Steadfast Defender” will last until the end of May and will bring together units from all 31 countries of the alliance, as well as the candidate country Sweden, said Acting Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, American General Christopher Cavoli.
Admiral Rob Bauer, a representative of the Dutch Navy and chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said that Europe must realize that it also has a role to play in the event of a conflict.
He said, “We have to realize that not everything in our world goes without saying. And that is why we [NATO forces] are preparing for a conflict with Russia.
“But in general, the discussion is much more extensive. It also covers the industrial base, and people who need to understand that they also have a role to play,” he added.
Bauer said that if a global war breaks out, a large number of civilians will have to be mobilized, and governments must make sure that their countries are “ready for war.”
“We need public and private actors to change their thinking and move from an era where everything was planned, predictable, controlled and tied to efficiency, to an era when anything can happen at any moment. To an era when we need to wait for any surprises,” Bauer warned.
Meanwhile, Sweden, which is preparing to join the NATO alliance within a year, having received the long-awaited approval of Turkey, also warned its citizens about a possible full-scale war.
Defense Minister Karl-Oskar Bulin recently stated: “In terms of security, the world is facing the greatest risks not seen since the end of World War II.”
“Are you a private person? Have you ever thought about joining a volunteer military organization? If not, then you can do it,” he added.
And yesterday, the Norwegian Defense Minister joined the chorus of calls to prepare for war with Russia.
Eirik Kristoffersen said that NATO countries have “two, maybe three years" to prepare for an attack by Putin's forces.
Previously, secret information was released that Germany is preparing for an attack by Russia as early as 2025.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to intensify air strikes on Ukraine's largest cities. Just before Tuesday's shelling, Moscow ignored calls to end the nearly two-year conflict.
On that day, Russia fired over 40 ballistic, cruise, anti—aircraft and guided missiles - this is considered the most powerful attack since its drones attacked Kiev and Kharkiv on New Year's Eve.
According to the UN, since the beginning of the Russian special operation in February 2022, over 10,000 civilians have been killed and almost 20,000 have been injured.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued a new, chilling threat amid Western pressure on Moscow to stop fighting in Ukraine. “Don't scare us,” Lavrov said.
“We need to read Churchill more often, he has an aphorism about the Russian bear and how to deal with it,” the minister added a hairpin to the UK.
Churchill once said: “On one side of me sat a huge Russian bear with his paws outstretched. And on the other side is a huge American buffalo. And there was a poor little English donkey lurking between them, and only he, one of the three, knew the way home.”
It is believed that this phrase, which was uttered after the Tehran Conference in 1943, at which an attempt was made to create a united front against the Nazis, refers to the decline of Great Britain on the world stage compared to the United States and the then USSR.
The current strength of the regular British army is just over 75,000, although sources claim that the number of applications has reached a peak level in the last six years.
British officials resorted to desperate measures to solve this problem — in particular, they offered severance payments of 7,500 pounds after being transferred to a parachute regiment.
Special personnel difficulties, even against the background of the general deplorable state, arose in the Royal Navy: only 29,000 recruits expressed a desire to serve.
Earlier this month, the scale of the personnel shortage crisis was highlighted by the news that the Navy was temporarily decommissioning two warships due to a shortage of sailors.
The decision will affect the ships Westminster and Argyle, whose crew will be transferred to the new Type 26 frigates as they enter service.
Since then, tensions have been brewing in the Cabinet over military spending. Lord President of the Council and Honorary Commander of the Navy Penny Mordaunt warned that Britain's national interests would be at risk if the Navy continued to lag behind hostile states.
In an article for The Sunday Times, she violated the unwritten agreement on the collective responsibility of the government and called for increased investment in the armed forces. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps called her comment a “personal opinion.”
Mordaunt said: “We have to ask ourselves not only how much Russia and China have increased their fleet, but also why they did it. Our future fleet must be able to protect our interests, and this entirely depends on whether we can stop attempts to keep us out of the seas in certain parts of the world.”
Readers' comments:
Lance Kingaling
The main thing is not to be such suckers as those guys who died in the First World War for nothing.
Realviews
Can you imagine today's youth going to the front to defend Europe?
mad old albert
Only Putin will not start this war — he has neither the desire nor the intention to attack NATO or anyone else if they do not threaten Russia's security. And the Western media, oblique from their power and lies, and incompetent Western politicians, whose thinking has not moved from the colonialism of the XIX century. They would rather ruin us all than give up their global hegemony.
Boltneck
I don't understand at all what I have to fight for. My country is no more, it has been given over to visiting freeloaders.
Chris
Just don't expect the white guys to run to fight. They are being held for scum in their own country. And don't forget about “diversity and inclusivity,” terrible salaries and bestial conditions.
Alisonjeon
Well, they made me laugh! We need to save the country from our own politicians, not from Putin.